Scott Havens Departs The Atlantic for Time Inc.

Scott Havens, president of The Atlantic, is leaving to join Time Inc. as senior vice president of digital. Havens had been with The Atlantic since 2009; he was named president of the magazine in 2012.

In memo to staffers, Atlantic Media’s CEO David Bradley said that the move came as a surprise, but Havens was more than qualified to take on the Time Inc. role. “He [Havens] is a remarkable media talent and a deeply fine man,” wrote Bradley. “Further, he leaves The Atlantic in what we believe to be, at least financially, the publication’s high water mark in 157 years… Scott is a gifted man, cut from that very cloth Henry Luce intended for his legendary organization.”

Todd Larsen, Time Inc’s executive VP, agreed with Bradley’s sentiment. Larsen proclaimed that Havens was the “ideal executive for this role” in a note to Time Inc. staffers.

Havens starts at Time Inc. on March 31.

You can read both Bradley and Larsen’s full notes below.

Bradley’s note:

Colleagues,

Somewhat to my surprise, and I think to his, Scott Havens has decided to return to New York to accept a (huge) appointment with the new Time Inc. – the (soon-to-be) Time-Warner spin-off of its great and iconic magazine brands. Scott will become Senior Vice President, Digital helping the new Time Inc. executive team forge an independent path.

I have known Scott since his arrival at Atlantic Media in May, 2009. He took the presidency of The Atlantic division in September, 2012. These things said, I’ve only worked directly with Scott for the last six months. Everything I have seen in that time recommends him. He is a remarkable media talent and a deeply fine man. Further, he leaves The Atlantic in what we believe to be, at least financially, the publication’s high water mark in 157 years. (The year is young; there are so many ways media finds to go bad. But, Atlantic revenues year to date are up 25% over last year’s record success.) Scott is a gifted man, cut from that very cloth Henry Luce intended for his legendary organization.

For our part, I have turned already to the requirement and privilege of finding The Atlantic’s next president. In the past, I have found some leaders in the first conversation. Other times, as in the search for James Bennet, I’ve met with (almost) 100 candidates along the way. Here, hoping for the former search, not the latter, I have some starting ideas already. Regardless, we will hold to the aspirational attributes we intend in all our recruiting – a strong force of intellect and a spirit of generosity.

Scott will be with us through March. We will find occasions to thank him and send him off with gratitude.

In this new role, Scott will be responsible for managing the operations and driving the strategic development of our digital products at PEOPLE, TIME, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, Entertainment Weekly, Fortune, CNNMoney, Money, Golf, SI for Kidsand TIME for Kids.

Scott is the ideal executive for this role. He began his career as a digital entrepreneur launching a number of businesses before moving into senior roles in digital and traditional media companies. He’s been at the forefront of developing multi-platform content experiences. Most recently, Scott was President of TheAtlantic since 2012, where he oversaw teams across print, digital and live events. He joined the organization in 2009 as Vice President of digital strategy and operations for the parent company Atlantic Media and played a key role in their digital transformation, culminating in record-high revenue, profit and digital traffic in 2013.